Sustainable design education: Explorations of the meaning of the consciously responsible communication design student in higher education

Abstract

There is general consensus within students and staff in higher education that designers have to be ‘eco-conscious’, making decisions every day that will consciously or non-consciously impact their carbon footprint in multiple ways, from the files they are saving, to the designs they are creating. However, in further/higher education, it is still not discussed widely, or in depth, as part of delivery. In communication design, this is particularly difficult, due in part to the multiple, nuanced considerations surrounding methods, processes, practices, and outputs listed as part of the discipline. This paper will specifically explore issues of student perception around relevance, and personal choice verses institutional expectations which internally shape working practices in academia, and beyond into their professional lives. By using data and insights gathered from interviews and focus groups of current communication design students, this paper discusses the relationship of the design student, their creative process, and the value of the practice when considered against sustainability within pedagogy and practice, leading to the need for delivery to be shaped towards the agenda more definitively, relevantly, and in parallel to learning outcomes and assessment.